You’d have to go back to December 2012 to find a time when President Barack Obama was as popular as he is now, a new Gallup poll shows.

That was just a month after his re-election. The poll then was conducted right after the Sandy Hook massacre.

In the latest survey, Obama enjoys a 57 percent job approval rating, Gallup says. That’s not unusual. Lame-duck presidents usually become more popular in the immediate aftermath of the election to replace them. George Bush’s went up, too, though it was half of Obama’s present rating.

In modern times, Obama trails only Bill Clinton for popularity at this stage of their presidencies. Obama is also tied with Ronald Reagan.

Not mentioned in the poll analysis why we tend to like presidents more when they’re about to leave office.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started the two most popular blogs in the history of MPR and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories but reflections , observations, and debate.